Select Page

Friday Recap: South Carolina Blanks Vandy in Nashville; Miss State Survives Against Tennessee; Texas Roars Past Columbia; & More

Friday brought us seven matchups between top 25 teams with five taking place on the men’s side and two on the women’s side. The only top 10 matchup took place in Nashville with fifth-ranked Vanderbilt hosting sixth-ranked South Carolina. The Gamecocks hadn’t beaten Vandy in Nashville since 2005 but the 14 year drought came to end thanks to a few key points in doubles and then getting all around strong play throughout the singles lineup. South Carolina grabbed the early lead after taking the doubles point with a 6-1 win at No. 1 and a 7-6(4) win at No. 2. In singles, SC claimed four opening sets and they’d manage to close three out...

My Thoughts On The Men’s KOW Plus Impact Freshmen To Keep An Eye On

This past weekend was the first chance for several teams to knock the dust off their racquets and it was also our first chance to see some of the freshmen and January roster additions in action. I’ll go back through the weekend that was and give my thoughts on several teams and where I see them headed this season plus I’ll highlight those with stellar KOW performances. I’ll also take a look at the freshmen and January roster additions that could be difference makers for their respective teams. So who impressed me the most – I’ll start with Oklahoma, led by first-year head coach Nick Crowell, played some dominating...

Black & Gold Use Some Silver(Stein) to Stun T-Tech; Crazy Scenes in College Station, Georgia Tech Wrecks Stanford

I tell you if you are a fan of college tennis today was as good at gets with one close match after another as all 15 Men’s KOW regionals were in full swing. There were two regional hosts that got knocked out in the first round which is something that doesn’t happen very often. Another thing that doesn’t happen very often is Iowa winning a match during an ITA Kick-Off Weekend because this was the first time since 2010 that the Hawkeyes had a high enough previous year-ending ranking to be selected to participate. Iowa rolled into Lubbock on a cool and windy day and jumped on Texas Tech early by going up breaks on all three courts and would...

Coaching Changes, Kentucky Planning a M Facility, Pro Circuit Update

Friday was a busy day for the coaching carousel with Cal Irvine, Old Dominion, and Iowa each announcing head coaching hires. UC Irvine announced that Mike Saunders, who served as the interim men’s head coach last season, has been named as the permanent men’s head coach. Saunders, who is a 1990 UC Irvine graduate, took over as the interim coach last October after Trevor Kronemann, 117-126 (.481), stepped down to become the Director of Junior Tennis at the Southern California Tennis Association (SCTA). Saunders led the Anteaters to a 17-9 record last season before they bowed out to UCSB in the Big West semifinals.Proud to welcome the newest head...

Thursday Recap: UCSB and Cal Poly to Meet in Big West Finals, Big Ten & WCC Undereway

The top two seeds at the Big West Tournament advanced to the championship match with No. 1 UC Santa Barbara shutting out No. 4 UC Irvine while No. 2 Cal Poly gutted out a 4-2 win over No. 3 UC Davis. UCSB and Cal Poly met in the regular season finale last Saturday with UCSB coming out on top by a 5-2 score in a match that was played at Cal Poly.UCSB took the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3 then the Gauchos picked up straight set wins from Morgan Mays, Cody Rakela, and Teague Hamilton at 3, 5, and 6. UCSB was in control at No. 2 when it was abandoned due to the clinch while Irvine was up at No. 1 and No. 4 had just split sets.(1) UC SANTA BARBARA 4,...